Carlos PenaVega[1] born as Carlos Roberto Pena, Jr. is an American actor and singer. He is best known for starring on the Nickelodeon series Big Time Rush as Carlos Garcia in addition to being a member of the band Big Time Rush.

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Early Life

Carlos is the son of Margarita and Carlos Pena Sr. He was born in Columbia, Missouri, in August 15, 1989 but raised in Weston, Florida. His mother is from the Dominican Republic and his father is Spanish and Venezuelan. He attended Sagemont Upper School.
His first major role was a guest shot at age 15 on ER, followed later that year by guest-starring roles on Judging Amy, Summerlan'd, and Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. He appeared in local productions of Grease and Man of La Mancha. He also had a role in the American Heritage School, where he attended before leaving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, production of Titanic.During his run in Titanic he fell in love with singing and dancing. While still in high school, Pena appeared in television commercials for the Super Soaker brand recreational water gun, and his image even appeared on the toy's packaging.

In 2007, he appeared as a contestant on MTV's Making.

Menudo series.Pena and his mother commuted between South Florida and Hollywood, California, to accommodate his television acting roles, and he was homeschooled during this time.He returned to The Sagemont School where he starred in shows like "Grease", "Les Miserable", "Little Shop of Horrors" (which landed him a South Florida Cappie nomination for Lead Actor in a Musical), and "Once Upon a Mattress". He received his high school diploma from The Sagemont School in 2008. After graduating from high school, he attended the Boston Conservatory.

Pena was studying music at the Boston Conservatory when his manager urged him to audition for Big Time Rush.Although he was reluctant to do so, he submitted an audition tape and got the role a month later.Pena then moved to Hollywood in August 2009.

Personal Life

Biography: Carlos Pena stars on the new Nickelodeon live-action comedy series Big Time Rush, as music group member Carlos, who loves to have fun and treats life like one big playground.

Pena, who was born to a Dominican mother and a Spanish/Venezuelan father, spent the first part of his youth in Columbia, Mo. before moving to Weston, Fl. Once settled in Weston, he joined a boys’ choir and found himself at home in musical theater. While developing his vocal skills, he also studied guitar and piano. Looking for an opportunity to break into show business, he landed a job for the Super Soaker Water Gun campaign where he appeared in numerous national commercials and was featured on the Super Soaker packaging.

Soon after, Pena landed a recurring role on Nickelodeon’s Ned’s DeClassified School Survival Guide. In addition, he has guest starred on E.R. , Judging Amy and Summerland. He competed on the MTV reality show Making Menudo where he found himself among the final nine contestants trying to be in the next Menudo.

When the opportunity to audition for Big Time Rush came along, Pena was ready to embark on his first year at the Boston Conservatory and decided to pass on the audition. Thanks to his manager’s tenacity, Pena later sent in an acting piece to the producers, and a month later, landed the gig. Satisfied to put his attendance at the Conservatory on hold for now Pena says, “I’m thrilled to be on this show. I didn’t realize how amazing this experience would be – to be able to act and sing and be a part of a very funny TV show.”

Pena hopes to bring a multi-dimensional aspect to his character Carlos. “He is a tough guy with the fun personality and he has everyone’s back,” Pena commented. “But when he gets into the recording studio, this soft side of him comes out and he is singing romantic ballads for the ladies.”

Pena hopes to someday perform on Broadway and to be one of the few Latinos to win a Best Actor award at the Oscars. A certified rescue diver, Pena enjoys spending his time underwater scuba diving. A recent transplant to Los Angeles, Pena’s family and four dogs still live in Florida. He dated an actress named Samantha Droke. They broke up and then confirmed that on Twitter. On September the 11th he became engaged to Alexa Vega, who stared as herself on Big Time Dreams and as Carlos Garcia's love interest. They tied the knot on the 4th of Janurary, 2014, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Trivia

He is the opposite of Kendall when it comes to being organized. Kendall is not organized and Carlos is. Carlos has said that he keeps Kendall's area clean and organized.

He has 3 brothers: Javi , Antonio and Andres Pena.

He has said that he got three new brothers (Kendall, James and Logan)

Full Name: Carlos Roberto Pena Jr

Date of Birth: August 15, 1989

Place of Birth: Columbia, Missouri

Height: 5’6"

Weight: 145 lb

Nickname: 'Los, 'litos, Carlitos

Favorite TV Show: Modern Family

Favorite Flower: Rose

Favorite Book: Into The Wild

In school: Took school seriously

Favorite Color: Purple

Favorite Animal: Monkey

Favorite Band: Train

Favorite Sport: Hockey

Favorite Episode So Far: Big Time Mansion

Favorite Football Team: The Miami Dolphins

Favorite Cereal: Fruity Pebbles

Favorite Superhero: Hulk

Favorite Number: 14

Favorite TV Show: The Walking Dead

Favorite Movie: The Usual Suspects

Favorite Song: "Slow Dance" - John Legend

Favorite Food: Anything with potatoes

Favorite Hobby: Scuba Diving

Favorite Body Part: Teeth

Fears: Ketchup

Carlos has a German Shepard named Sydney.

His first job was working at Publix, a grocery store in Florida.

Carlos says if he wasn't in a band he would want to be a mammal trainer at Sea World.

Carlos is a black belt in Taekwondo.

Scuba Diving is one of Carlos' biggest passions.

Carlos’ first kiss was when he was 13, and it was with a 15 year old at a dance

One of Carlos’ many celebrity crushes is Megan Fox! He says “Her tattoos and her body turn me on!”

Carlos is more into fun dates. Even if they’re not romantic, they’re still fun! *You should just have a cool time. I think that people should be friends before they start a relationship.

Carlos went to prom all 4 years of high school.

Carlos loves to shop at Banana Republic and American Apparel.

Carlos loved jamming out to the Jackson 5 as a kid.

Carlos writes a poem and turns it into a song in his process of song writing.

Carlos broke his toe during a Nerf Gun fight on the tour bus

Carlos and the band would have loved to work with Michael Jackson, if he was still alive.

Carlos loves shopping for Electronics

Carlos’ favorite instrument to play is the piano.

The first time Carlos got star stuck was when he saw Megan Fox.

Carlos Pena says he's the most insecure out of all of the Big Time Rush boys.

Carlos is the most responsible, they sometimes call him the mom, because he's always advising them & telling them to be careful & stuff.

Carlos would love to go out with a British girl, again.

Carlos says that so many kids asked him where his helmet was & he always laughs so hard. He says he might have to take it on tour soon.

Carlos says they use every day to do something new & that their really grateful for their awesome jobs & lives.

Carlos says their tour bus sounds like a machine gun because of all the Nerf guns they use.

If Carlos had to cook for his date, he would make her a sandwich made with love.

Carlos' bad habit is worrying about people too much. When he accidently bothers someone he always keeps asking "are you okay" and it gets annoying.

Carlos' favorite fruits are Mango and Plums.

Carlos would love to go shopping for toys because he hasn't been to a toy store in a long time.

Carlos' best pick up line is " I lost my phone number, can I have yours"

Carlos says Harry Potter is one of the greatest book series ever.

Carlos says it’s really hard to keep the scene going without laughing. He says the second Kendall smirks then they all start laughing.

Carlos likes to wear sunglasses a lot!

Carlos really wants to go to New Zealand

One of Carlos’ biggest dreams is to win an Academy Award one day.

Carlos is serious about talking to kids about giving their all at school & not giving into peer pressure.

Carlos is always looking for charities for the BTR gang to help out with.

Carlos is always happy to make an appearance to help with a worthwhile cause to raise money (especially in the California area)

If Carlos had to pick between Lady Gaga & Rihanna, he would choose Rihanna

Carlos' favorite part of the holidays is the food. He loves all the food his mom makes!

Nothing gets Carlos in a better mood for the holidays than Food

Carlos loves to go snowboarding.

Carlos loves Valentine’s Day!

Carlos loves a girl who can be funny, talk about guys stuff, loves to have fun & can be a real girl

Carlos Chat with Yahoo's OMG UK:

Describe yourself in three words: Fun, organised, determined.

What’s the best advice someone in the industry’s given you? Stay focused on your goals.

Tell us your celebrity crushes… Cheryl Cole

Who’s the most famous person in your phone? Justin Bieber

When was the last time you told someone you loved them and who was it? That would be my girlfriend.

What was the last lie you told? That I wasn’t tired this morning.

What’s your secret hangover cure? N/A

What’s your favourite sandwich filling? Salami.

What’s your random grooming/beauty tip? Not sure it’s a tip but I find the less make-up the better…on girls of course!

Tell us your biggest omg! moment… When my dog ate a towel and had to have surgery to remove it.

He was born in Columbia, Missouri.

He is Dominican, Spanish, and Venezuelan.

He was in choir and musical theater as a child.

He knows how to play guitar and piano.

Carlos was featured in the Super Soaker water gun commercials as a child, and was even on the packaging for the toy!

He has guest starred on these television shows: Ned's Declassified, ER, Judging Amy, and Summerland.

Another big television break, Carlos stared as one of the contestants on a Spanish singing competition show called Making Menudos at seventeen years old.

Carlos aspires to be on Broadway, and win best actor in the Latin Grammys.

He is a certified rescue diver, and loves to go scuba diving.

Ever notice in opening credits for Big Time Rush, Carlos jumps up and does what cheerleaders call a 'spread eagle'? Well, that's because he was a cheerer for three years!

Carlos' favorite shirt is his vintage Batman Tee.

Carlos loves it when a girl smiles. He's all about the pearly whites ladies!

When Carlos received the call telling him he was going to star on Big Time Rush, he was in a movie theater watching Wall-E with his little brother, Andres.

The cast of Big Time Rush has dubbed Carlos the cleanest of all of them. They even say he cleans their dressing rooms for them!

Carlos calls himself the very opposite of his character on the TV show. Everyone says he is the calmest out of everyone.

Carlos owns a Jeep.

Carlos got a fake tattoo on March 20,2012. His tattoo was in his left side of the body. Click here to see it.

James Maslow and Carlos Pena have joined Hallo (a new app that they discovered).

Carlos got his first real tattoo on his right side of his body. He got the tattoo the same days as Kendall got his fourth one.Carlos meaning for his new tattoo is " Love, Family, Determination, Persistence, Earth Wind & Fire, Good fortune, Good health, Peace..... http://instagr.am/p/OFVBrJiPZn/ "

Sports fan: He played roller hockey growing up and was a Los Angeles Kings fan long before they won the Stanley Cup.

Sky diver: Pena, brother Antonio and their dad went skydiving in the Keys earlier this year. “Gotta do it again,” he says. “But Nickelodeon may get upset.”

Social media: He was more than 100,000 off when asked if he knew how many Twitter followers he has at @TheCarlosPena (740,000 plus), but he’s a major Instagram fiend.

Friend of Victoria: He’s met Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice, who grew up in Hollywood, after they moved west, but they never see each other. “It’s funny that we could grow up so close to each other with the same goals and aspirations … but it’s so hard to meet up.”

On the show, Carlos's favorite song is "Windows Down" but in real life, his favorite song is "Superstar."

Carlos says his favorite Ninja Turtle is Donatello since his favorite color is purple.

He got his first kiss at summer camp.

He has a crush on Megan Fox.

He is a clean freak, as said in an interview.

Before he was cast as Carlos in BTR, Carlos' name was supposed to be Jessie.